The Sorensen Monologues

Archive for February, 2015

The right-wing media has been having a field day over a State Department spokeswoman’s suggestion that merely killing ISIS isn’t going to solve the problem — that we also need to look at underlying causes of why some are drawn to terrorism. She was clearly suggesting that having decent jobs might prevent people from becoming terrorists. You can agree or disagree with this point, but it is dishonest and patently absurd to say that she is advocating jobs for violent jihadis.

The Arkansas House just passed a measure banning the safe practice of doctors interacting remotely with women taking RU-486. Similar uses of technology in the field of telemedicine have been around, and largely unquestioned, for decades. But in recent years, Republican lawmakers have suddenly expressed a curious concern for women’s safety when it comes to this particular usage. Pre-emptive bans are being passed in states where the technology has not even been used yet in conjunction with RU-486. It’s almost as if there’s something else going on here…